By Ibrahim Muye Yahaya
Inna lilalhi wa inna illahi raji’una!!! October 12, 2024, was not a somber day to only the family, relatives, friends, well-wishers, associates and political family of Senator Ahmad Mohammed Makarfi, OFR, but also those who were privileged to meet and associate with his son, Faisal, who passed away in a car crash along Zaria-Kaduna expressway. For the family and those who knew him, it was end of an era. Faisal was a versatile young man of many affairs. He was a civil engineer, farmer, businessman and a philanthropist. My first encounter with him was in December, 2009 at Gillingham, Chatham at the Medway Campus of the University of Greenwich, London. I had travelled from Guildford, Surrey County, to visit my friend Lawal Bello Moriki, when I met the late Faisal and our close to 15 years of unbreakable mutual, enduring, cordial and brotherly relationship started. For those familiar with UK universities, Muslim students from Northern Nigeria normally have the opportunities of coming across each other during the daily canonical prayers, especially during Magrib (sunset) prayers at the campus. It was after the Zuhr (noon) prayers that my friend introduced Faisal to me, we shook hands and he enquired if I was a new student at their university and I responded that I was not, but visiting Lawal from Guildford. We chatted and strolled back to the Pembroke Building, which housed the faculty of engineering where they were both students. As we arrived the faculty, “Engineer”, as his friends fondly called him, requested for my mobile phone number as he was about to head for lectures. This exchange of phone numbers was the beginning of our 15-year long relationship, which sadly came to an end with his tragic death.
About four weeks before his demise, he was with another friend of ours, Yazid Aliyu, and we spoke through Yazid’s line with the promise of us to meet at an appointed date. A week to his demise, I received his call around 9:45pm after exchanging compliments and asked about my family. He said “Malam Ibrahim”, as he fondly called me, “Insha Allah next week zan shigo ko minti talatin, yana da kyau mu hadu”, and I responded, “Engineer, Allah ya kawo ka lafiya, agai min da madam and Boy”. That was the last conversation I had with my bosom friend, Faisal Ahmad Makarfi. I never knew it was a farewell call from him.
To tell the full story about Faisal will require a full book, a weighty tome. When he was posted to Katsina for his compulsory NYSC assignment about a decade ago, I joined him in the residence of his grandfather on the eve of the commencement of the camp activities as he prepared his luggage. Unlike the spoilt rich and influential kids who would form sickness and come to camp with excuses of sickness to redeploy or to avoid rigorous camping activities, Faisal told me and his uncle that he would never play truancy throughout the camp activities, and he proudly kept his words with the highest patriotic zeal. His father seemed to have instilled strict discipline in him right from young age. He once narrated to me how his father, despite being a serving governor, and with presence of so many private schools in Kaduna and Abuja, he was sent to far-away Offa in Kwara state, a journey of about 600 kilometers for his secondary education, not minding the long distance, bad roads and other risks.
But what was Faisal like as a young man? He was a man of few words, very human and humane, social democrat in character, truly unassuming and an advocate of a welfare state. He had a naturally generous and feeling heart. He lived for others and he never got carried away or troubled himself with acquisitive tendencies, a fact that those who were close to him attest to. His influential background and status did not shield him from the wider society. He was an open persona, at home with the rich and less privileged. His humble mien and generousity were also glaring towards anybody he came across. Faisal was a chip off the old block, taking after his father, the former Governor Ahmad Makarfi of Kaduna state, being a good conversationalist, humorous, talking about good governance, businesses and politics.
Long before his graduation, he never hid his preference for private sector business, where he was much interested in employment generation while engaging himself as a part-time university lecturer as a community service. His focus was mainly on agriculture where he believed he could contribute to Nigeria’s food security. He ventured into rice production and poultry farming. While his poultry farm suffered due to insecurity, FAMCO Rice, a brand from his rice mill company, is already a popular rice brand in Kaduna state and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). He had also concluded plans to go into vegetable/sun flower cooking oil production before his life was cut short.
Faisal was born in Kaduna where he had his primary education. He proceeded to the famous Adesoye College, Offa for his secondary education, where he passed his WAEC/GCE with excellent grades. He proceeded to the University of Greenwich, UK and obtained B.Eng in civil engineering. After his compulsory National Youth Service Corp (NYSC) in Katsina, the young Faisal returned to the United Kingdom for his postgraduate studies, this time at the University of Nottingham, where he obtained an M.Eng in civil engineering. As someone who had passion and unquenchable thirst for knowledge, he headed back to the University of Greenwich for his PhD in civil engineering. As a PhD student, he attended several international conferences at prestigious universities around the globe, including Central European University, Budapest, University of Stockholm, University of Heidelberg, University of Amsterdam, University of Rome, and University of Warsaw, among others, a feat which added to his exposure and world view.
Late Faisal was an embodiment of honesty and integrity, God fearing, meticulous, and responsible to a fault. He was an epitome of humility, discipline, hard work and patriotism. Engineer Faisal will be remembered not only by his family, but also his friends including this author. His memory will live with us forever. We will always remember his warm smile, soft words, amiable manner and positive outlook. He is survived by his father, siblings and left behind his wife and a son. May Almighty Allah accept his soul, forgive all his shortcomings and grant him eternal rest in Jannatul Firdausi.
Yahaya writes from Abuja
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Sky Daily
